“The sower went out to sow his seed.”

In Palestine, the rainy season begins in early November and runs through April. In Christ’s time, the farmers waited for the rains to soften the soil before entering their fields to sow their wheat, barley or rye. Typically, the farmer strapped sacks of seed on a donkey’s back and led the animal through the field. A slit in the side of the sack spilled seeds into the farmer’s hands, which he broadcast across the ground. Working this way, he moved back and forth between the footpaths fringed with thorn bushes that lined his fields. After the seed had been broadcast, he returned with a plow to turn the soil and sow the seed.

The seed, or in this parable the word of God, is most vulnerable at the first stage of planting, before the ground is broken, when ravenous birds can descend on the exposed fields. Jesus likened the birds to the Devil and his cohorts, who swoop down on us when we are young and impressionable and even idealistic. We may be on fire with the gospel message, wanting to lead fruitful, productive lives; but we’re also very impulsive and easily carried off by the temptations that surround us.

In Luke 8: 4-15, Jesus tells us that much of the seed that’s sown survives to set roots and grow. The seed that falls on the path grows fastest because the soil is shallow, a thin covering on the calcified rock so common in that area. The sun warms the thin soil quickly the seed germinates and sprouts, but it soon withers when its roots encounter the rock.

In a sense, Jesus is telling us it's not enough to bask in the warmth of a vibrant Sunday liturgy. We must go deeper in our spiritual life through prayer, reflection, meditation and discipline.

Still other seeds fall among the thorn bushes and briers where growth is stifled by the cares and riches of life. But it’s important to note that the Hebrew farmer did not see these thorn brushes and briers as a threat to his livelihood. These were the kindling with which he made his morning fire and cooked his meals. He did not clear them from his fields because they made his life easier. . . much as today’s creature comforts, conveniences and possessions make our lives easier even as their thorns prick at our spiritual life, tearing the fabric of our souls.

Finally, there is the seed that falls on fertile soil and bears much fruit in good time. Jesus reminds us that it is only through perseverance that a crop reaches maturity. When He spoke of a crop maturing, he referred to the Jewish farmers’ practice of allowing the grain to grow until it was "dead ripe" and as dry as tinder. The crop kept on growing right to the very end.

It could be that today’s gospel is calling us to reflect on whether we are still growing in our faith?  Whether we are more spiritually mature today than this time last year?  Are we performing more corporal works of mercy?  Are we reading and studying the Bible?  Are we growing?

A new rainy season will soon begin. The clouds will gather, the rain will fall, softening the soil. And the heavenly farmer will enter the field once more to sow within us the word that will not die. How shall we grow?